


Just a Little Bit of Hope

by DireRose



Category: Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Iron Dad, I’m so sorry, Like, Love them, Other, This is a lot of infinity war angst, a lot of it, and spider son, based off a tumblr post, but also not sorry at ALL, can’t remember the post tho, dad tony stark, good luck, i may or may not have cried writing this, im broken from writing this I’m sorry i can’t spell, ksdfjaldskfja;sdfj, peter is Tony’s son in all but blood, we all know htis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 09:22:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15167612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DireRose/pseuds/DireRose
Summary: Infinity War broke us all. Don’t lie. We all cried and cursed. Maybe even screamed.“Peter Parker, who just wanted to help people. Who just wanted to be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, who was pure and innocent and always managed to look on the bright side of things. Who proved himself worthy to Tony just by being himself. Peter Parker, a child who tried to be so much more, who Tony came to see as his own son.Peter Parker, who was screaming and crying and begging for his life in Tony’s own arms. A child - Tony’s child, as far as he was concerned, who was dying.And Tony couldn’t do anything to stop it.”





	Just a Little Bit of Hope

“Mr. Stark... I don’t feel so good.” 

One sentence. That’s all it was. But as soon as those words left Peter’s mouth, Peter was on the ground. He could barely register Tony taking him into his arms, holding him tightly, praying to God - the one he doesn’t believe in, mind you - and begging him not to take Peter from him. Peter Parker, this seventeen year old boy who had followed Tony blindly without any fear. Peter Parker, who had annoyed Tony to no end so that he could prove himself worthy to be an avenger.

Peter Parker, who just wanted to help people. Who just wanted to be a friendly neighborhood spider man. Who was pure and innocent, and always managed to look on the bright side of things. Who proved himself worthy to Tony just by being himself. Peter Parker, a child who tried to be so much more, who Tony came to see as his own son.

Peter Parker, who was screaming and crying and begging for his life in Tony’s own arms. A child, Tony’s child as far as he was concerned, who was dying. 

And Tony couldn’t do anything. He couldn’t save this little boy. He couldn’t ease his pain, or offer him comfort. All he could do was cry and hold the boy tightly and hope that the sheer force of his arms around the boy would save him. 

For the first time in his life, Tony saw his worst nightmare come to life. 

And when Peter disappeared, Tony felt his last shred of light leave with him. That’s what Peter had become in those incredibly short two years. Peter Parker was many things, but most of all, he was Tony Stark’s light in the darkness.

He screamed. He cursed at God, at any and all gods, for thinking it was okay to rip that boy out of his arms. He screamed because he knew better than to believe that any type of loving God would spare a seventeen year old child. It was why he had become atheist to begin with; anyone worthy of being called God wouldn’t have taken his parents from him. He screamed at Nebula for even considering comforting him. 

Tony had never wanted for anything in his life. After all, he was rich. He could afford anything and everything he could even yearn for. But now? In his moment of misery, where rock had hit bottom and his world came crashing down? There were many things he wanted. He wanted to be on Earth with Pepper, to feel her hands run through his hair as he cried, to hear her whisper in his ear that everything would be alright. He wanted his team, wherever they were, to surround him with understanding in their equally miserable eyes. But above all, Tony wanted nothing more than to watch the life leave Thanos’ eyes. 

To stop the grieving man’s ravings, Nebula struck him over the head and caught him in her arms. All the while, she struggled to keep her own tears from flowing.

Hundreds of thousands of miles away as Tony was closing his eyes, Peter was opening his own. But it didn’t feel right; nothing felt right anymore. Instead of the red sky of Titan, Peter was met with an orange-yellow color above him. In shock and confusion, he sat up quickly and scanned the area.

Orange. That’s all anything was. There were no clouds, there was no sun. No birds flew in the sky above him, nor hopped along the ground below him. He heard whispers and murmurs from all around, other souls that had “died” as he had. They were crying, hugging each other, as family found family and friend found friend. 

Struggling to keep his breathing under control, peter leaped up and desperately searched for a familiar face. Anyone at all. Mr. Stark, Mr. Quill, Drax, he even looked for Mantis! Alas, he couldn’t find anyone. So then he focused on anyone else. Black Widow, Ant Man, Hawkeye, Thor. He spun around, clutching his Spider-Man mask in his hands. He couldn’t find any one. 

Finally, he called out for them. Maybe he couldn’t see them, but that didn’t mean that they weren’t near enough to hear him!

“Captain R-Rogers?” Peter sniffled, his breath staggered and uneven. “Mr. Banner? Er- Hulk? Please...”

He was alone. The realization was like taking a brick to the face.

And then he remembered he needed to breathe. 

Only he couldn’t breathe.

Peter Parker couldn’t breathe. 

“Please,” he whispered, broken, his knees giving out as he fell to the ground, “anyone... please... A-Aunt May, even. Please.” He let out a sob. He didn’t even realize that his hands were clutching his head. Tightly. The boy laid on his side and curled up with his knees under his chin. “I don’t want to be here alone. Please. I don’t-“

“Parker!” 

“I don’t want to be alone here, I don’t. Someone, please. I- I can’t.” He couldn’t stop his heart from racing, and he felt bile rising in his throat. Vomit. He was going to-

Peter hadn’t heard the man from behind him, but he felt gentle hands on his shoulder, helping him to sit up. And then he felt something wrap around him, only he didn’t remember anyone giving him a blanket.

And when he could finally breathe, he realized that it wasn’t a blanket - it was a cape. A red cape.

With tear-streaks on his cheeks, his eyes still watery, and sobs still erupting from his quivering lips, Peter finally turned to see his savior. 

In his seventeen years of living, Peter had never been more thankful for a man with a goatee. 

“D-Dr. Strange, sir? Mr-“

“Shh,” the doctor calmed him, and the cape instinctively wrapped itself a bit tighter around the boy. “You need to focus on your breathing.” 

“But-“ Peter drew a deep breath involuntarily. “What-“

“We’ll talk when you calm down. Just breathe.” The man said. “We are not in any danger at the moment.”

It was twenty minutes later when Peter found that he could breathe properly without focusing all of his time an energy into it. Strange sat beside him, slightly hovering in the air, with his eyes closed and hands in his lap. He was meditating, Peter realized. But he accidentally spoke out loud. 

“What happened to everyone else? Drax, and Quill and Mantis, they-“ 

“They are here, with us.”

“With us?” Peter’s face scrunched up in confusion. 

“They have to be. They must have appeared elsewhere, in a different area. But they are here. No one actually died.” 

Died. Peter thought he was going to die. The pain was so strong, so intense, he had wished for it to be over quickly. But he wasn’t dead, and he still could hardly wrap his head around it. “W-Where is here, exactly?”

Strange slowly floated back to the ground and landed gently beside the boy. “The soul stone, I assume. We’re stuck here until they can find a way to free us from Thanos’ hold.” 

“F-Free us? Stuck? We can’t be! There has to be a way out! Come on, you said you’ve see every scenario, surely you know how to get us out.” 

“Parker, out of every possible scenario, we are only freed in one.” 

Peter’s head was spinning at the news. He couldn’t be stuck there - in a stone - forever. He had to get out. He had to find Ned. And MJ. And... and Aunt May. 

“I- We... we’re stuck here? For how long? Is there anything that can indicate which scenario this is?”

“Nothing. The signs are on Earth with the survivors.”

“And... Mr. Stark? Is he...?”

“He’s alive, as far as I know. I did not see him disappear. Though, of course, I did not see you turn to dust either.”

Peter exhaled. 

Strange sighed. “I’m afraid I can’t say much more. If you’re looking for someone with good news, you might have to find someone who can offer it.” 

Peter wiped his teary eyes, his gaze blurry and unfocused. He looked around at the other souls stuck in limbo, and sighed. “I don’t have to look far. You said Mr. Stark is still alive... he’ll save us. I know he will.”

Stephen Strange wanted to believe in Tony Stark, but the odds of him saving them were 14 million to one. He couldn’t bring himself to put much faith in those odds, but he also couldn’t bring himself to take away the kid’s hope. A little bit of hope could go a long way, he knew, and it would have been cruel to take it from a boy so young.

So instead, the two sat there waiting in a comfortable silence. They weren’t sure if they would be waiting for years, or only hours. But they waited, and Peter Parker never lost his faith in Tony Stark.

And Tony Stark never gave up on them.


End file.
